The Worst Film Ever

Fantastic!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It is at least a five because I watched it to the very end. Harrelson is utterly inappropriate for the role of a gay escort of DC's bored housewives, but you cannot take your eyes of of him. I was about to pop out the disc when his character did something really dumb. I had to continue watching to understand why he did that. The Walker isn't a literal remake of American Gigolo, but Paul Schrader is recycling the same material. Carter Page III (Harrelson) thinks he has everything under control. Gets involved with the wrong people, the rich and powerful are always evil, right? Discovers these people aren't really his friends after he is suspected of killing a lobbyist and doors begin to slam in his face. Plenty of cameos by really good actors...Ned Beatty, Willem Dafoe, Lily Tomlin, Lauren Bacall. It isn't the script that keeps you watching, it is watching pros execute their craft. Except for these cameos and Harrelson's charisma, this movie has no pulse.

There are certainly flaws in this film. It's a little frustrating because this could have been a great film, a true classic.That being said there were some great lines in this, really interesting performances and great production design. I love movies with themes like this. Stories that are unique and portray a world that is an allegory for so many things in our culture but says something different portraying the lives of people never represented in cinema before. I also love a smart movie where there are more great actresses than actors built in the narrative. I admire filmmakers who do it. It's a real treat, especially when it's not a romantic comedy or some 'female/family empowerment' drivel. There were three of the best in here (and Woody Harrelson really stretched his chops and I liked it).There's a few clunkers in the dialogue, especially in the beginning (it evens out later and gets good). And the characters sometimes are a little Sunday morning cartoonish for me (but it may just be style). The thriller component of this is a bit convoluted. It actually seems like the back seat passenger in this film and didn't get fleshed out correctly, which could have been their intention.If I were involved in this film I would be really proud of it. I think it's important to articulate new ground in American storytelling. While I can't say this was a home run, I'm open to the possibility that on a 2nd or 3rd viewing I may adjust this opinion. I believe it's worth watching if you like noir, thrillers, queer stuff and all these actors. And if you watch a lot of movies, but don't finish many of them, like me, because they are all the same Hollywood crap.

In Washington, the sophisticated homosexual Carter "Car" Page III (Woody Harrelson) is a "walker", escorting the wives of powerful men in social events, clubs and shopping. Car is the son and grandson of famous politicians and circulates in the high-society of Washington; his lover is the journalist Emek Yoglu (Moritz Bleibtreu). One afternoon, Car brings his client and friend Lynn Lockner (Kristin Scott Thomas), who is the wife of the politician Larry Lockner (Willem Dafoe), to meet her lover Robbie Kononsberg (Steven Hartley) at his apartment. Out of the blue, Lynn comes shaking to his car and tells that Robbie is murdered in his apartment. Lynn tells that she can not call the police, since Larry is investigating a financial scandal with the company Ultimate that is administrated by Robbie and the scandal would destroy her husband. Car brings her home, returns to the crime scene and calls the police. However, the ambitious district attorney Mungo Tenant (William Hope) receives inside information about the love affair of Robbie and Lynn and presses Car to betray Lynn. But Car and Emek prefer to investigate the murder by themselves and find a network of power and corruption."The Walker" is a pretentious story of power and corruption in the American politics. Woody Harrelson is absolutely miscast in the role of a classy gay, since neither of these characteristics fits with his profile. The plot is exaggerated and confused, and the resolution is absolutely unreasonable. The logic conclusion should be with the powerful Jack Delorean destroying Car and Emek that have threatened him. Car inclusive tells him that he is aware of the whole situation. My vote is five.Title (Brazil): "O Acompanhante" ("The Escort")

The Walker is about a profession many of us aren't aware of: socialites like Mr. Carter Page III, who escort ladies who happened to be the wives of senators and congressman around Washington DC and play cards and socialize (hence the 'social' part of the title). But it's also about a murder mystery, where a man is killed who is connected with Lynn Lockner, married to senator Larry Lockner. Who killed him, for what motive, and what are the connections and the fall-out of the scandal, are all a part of the narrative for Paul Schrader, the mind-games of Washington, the slick veneer and quietly accepted facts of corruption and greed and, usually, scandal. But it's also about this man, the Walker, how he is viewed by the women he is polite to (indeed his politeness is pointed out as a weakness, as "Don't be so polite" in this DC society), and his own self flagged by the legacy of his father, a hero in the eyes of many in DC. Oh, and he's gay, though this is only the ice on the cake.For Paul Schrader, it's a mature work that shows him skillfully working out this side of DC that is fresh in perspective. He is able to write the dramatic scenes much better, however, than those of that of a thriller. One senses Schrader's investment in his own material hit high points when he just has two people in a room talking about the heart of a matter, like an argument between Carter and Emek that is really all about Carter's father but exactly about Carter the whole time, or a scene between Carter and Lauren Bacall's elder lady when he finds out a vital piece of information (the "black sheep" dialog). Scenes like those are very good, while a chase scene down an alley feels weaker, filmed with tired and repetitive dutch angles and close-ups.So, if it isn't quite one of Schrader's best films, albeit not his worst, it is definitely an achievement for Harrelson. He disappears into the character of Carter Page III (note the III) as an effeminate but strong-willed Southern man who hides his baldness with a hair piece and keeps his politeness and calm demeanor as something that is partly natural and partly a cover for what is really deep down someone who has disappointed others around him. It's so fascinating to see this actor who, indeed, once was a co-star in White Men Can't Jump, tackle such a complex character and succeed in every scene with depth and sensitivity and subtlety. He is nothing less than totally absorbing, especially up against old pros like Bacall and Ned Beatty.